Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-06-02

l dIS ALI luOtC Vi lCSS hIkVeeNAs Oe
earth earthly, of the dust dusty"
Then the door closed. rushed into
the kitchen, threw myself headlons
into the clothes-basAet, and laughed
and cried till my strength was ex-
hausted. What vouE Mr.. Allis think
Of US?
DAYS grew into weeks, and Aunt
Polly Pidse seemed to have taken root
in our household. Tendrils Of her
stocking-yarn entwined themselves
about the legs of defenseless chairs and
tables, to the imminent peril Of heed
less feet The hat-tree, in the front
hall, blossomed with her caps. Not a
shelf, from parlor to pantry. but bore
its cup and spoon. The very covers OF
the ginger and pepper boxes became
warped, from being constantly left OIL
while she reveled in her burning teas.
My mother had returned from visit
ing my married sister. rather dismayed
by the change which had been made in
her absence; but, as have said, Aunt
Pidge's visits were of semi-annual oc-
currence, as inevitable as the equinOc-
tial gales; and we tried to be patient.
Weeks ripened into months. The
school was closed, but Mr.. Allis re-
manned in Woodford to read law with
Judge Howe-and hover about his pref
ty daughter, rumor added. He spent
the evening at our house occasionally.
l set it down to the credit of his good
nature that he did so, for l felt power
less to entertain him.
Aunt Pidge. at each repeated call,
! catechized him faithfully in regard to
the state of his lungs, and supposed he
came to consult her about his cough
which certainly did not improve under
her prescriptions. 1t was, evidently,
of nervous, rather than a pulmonary
nature, since it never seized him except
in her presence.
wondered he should come so fire.
quently, since Kate Howe lived in an
other direction. Perhaps he wished to
blind prying eyes, thought, or Aunt
Polly's comical sayings attracted him.
1t was not strange that he became
enamored of Rates charms, for almost
every susceptible young man in town
did. Indeed, one love-lorn sophomore
went so far as to publish Sonnet to
her in the village Gazette. in which he
likened her mouth to Cupid's bow, and
made other original comparisons.
BY the way, I never could account
for it, on scientific principles, why ar
rows are shot from the eyes of beauty.
If the mouth is the bow, why does not
that shoot the darts?
The snow carae early in December,
and with its usual winter gayeties.
There was to be a large party at Tan
glewood, three miles from Woodford,
and the young gentlemen were active
in their preparations for conveying the
girls thlther. was surprised at re-
ceiving an early invitation from Mr..
Allis.
skate Howe has vexed him in some
way, and he asks me from pique, or to
arouse her jealousy" 1 thought, as 1
arranged my hair before the mirror.
''But what has that to do with me,
Miriam Gray? If l had refused his in
vitation, etiquette would have forbid
den me accepting any later one, and !
must have stayed at home, which I
have no idea of doing"
Philosophizing thus, I gave the final
stroke to my hair, and paused to note
the effect. Now there is this objection
to writing ones autobiography. You
must humbly describe yourself as a
plain, unattractive person. or be set
down as conceited at once. Why not
tell the truth about ones self, as about
others? Is the writer of stories neces-
sarily story-teller in the offensive
sense?
l have not had such sage maxims as
Beauty is only skin-deep," Hand
some is that handsome does" etc, in
stilled into my mind from early child
hood, without concluding chat l have
some claims to beauty, or there would
be no need of such counsel. Perfect
health. and plenty of air and exercise.
had given me clear complexion, of
which the bright coloring was confined
to the lips and cheeks, instead of run
ming riot over the whole face. as is
common in country girls; and my new
dress became me well. The trimmings
to my face-hair, eyelashes and eye
brows-were of a dark brown, "a capt.
tai match for my eyes" my father said.
As for my figure, it was of the medium
height.
"Put these cloves in your pocket,
child" said Aunt Pidge. coming into
my chamber with muffled tread (she
ha! pulled an extra pair of socks over
her shoes since the cold weather),
"and keep your mouth full all the way,
to ward off Influential
1t was useless to protest. 1 accepted
the proffered HANDFUL, and, hearing the
school-master's ring, hurried through
my toilet.
Five minutes later, as Mr.. Allis
tucked the buffaloes around me, Aunt
| piloo ,.oor.r1 lacs nf fho I,.,,,.l,k xx,s<l,